Pipe-wrench.



M. F. DFHSCOLL.

PIPE WRENCH.

APPLICATION men DEc.20,191s.

Patented Apr. 24, 19H'.

MICHAEL F. DRISCOLL, OF WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIPE-WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rae-enten. npr.; ali, ieiv.

Application led December 2Q, 1916. Serial No. 137,995..

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, MLOHAEL F. DarscoLL, a citizen of the United States,residing in W est Springfield, county of Hampden, and State ofll/Iassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful .improvements inljipe-lVrenches, of which the following is specification.

This invention relates to improvements in i pipe wrenches of the type inwhich the grlpping jaws are formed with a plurality of teeth arranged inthe form of a circle, whereby the pressure that is exerted on the pipeon its opposite sides will be very nearly equalized, thus preventinginjury or denting the pipe or other object which is being `gripped bythe wrench.

Heretofore in wrenches of this class the jaws have not had the teethsymmetrically arranged so as to exert uniform pressure resulting in thedenting of the pipe.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for holding theusual thumb nut against movement after the jaws have been clamped to apipe.

Referring 'to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing the jaws open and in the actof gripping the pipe, also illustrating the adjusting thumb nut with thegrooves in one end thereof7 which grooves are designed to receive theend of the holding plate;

Fig. 2 is a sectional end elevation of the movable jaw and illustratingthe grooves in ihe end of the adjusting nut; also the slide whichengages the grooves.

Referring to the drawings in detail: 1 designates the handle part of thewrench having the integral aw portion 2. 3 is the movable jaw part ofthe wrench that is provided with the usual threads 4 on the shankthereof. rllhe part 3 is formed with a plurality of teeth 5 and the part2 is formed with a plurality of teeth 6. It will be noticed that theseteeth are arranged in the form of a circle. A pipe is conventionallyillustrated at 7 in dotted lines and shown as being` uniformly grippedby the teeth 5 and 6. rlhe location of these teeth in the4 form of acircle causes them to engage the pipe 7 at equally spaced points,whereby when the wrench is operated to turn the piece of pipe a uniformpressure will be exerted on the pipe. Another purpose for arranging theteeth of the jaws in a circle is for the purpose of causing the wrenchto hang on a pipe after it is once applied. If the jaws of the wrenchare parallel the wrench will drop on?. In many places where the workmanis obliged to apply the wrench with one hand, that is to say, to openand close the jaws, it is a great convenience to have the tool hang cnthe article after it is applied. ln order te lock the movable jaw 3gainst movement after being adjusted the yoke S, which is pivoted to thehandle 1 at 8, is provided with parallel arranged integral overhangingparts or .lips 9 and located between these parts or lips 9 is theslidable plate 10 which is formed with the longitudinal opening 11therein. A thumb screw 12 is used to ren tain the slide 10 in iixedposition. rlhis slide is designed to engage the grooves 18 in the end ofthe adjusting nut 14, whereby the movable jaw 3 is retained against movement. It will be noticed that the grooves' 13 are arranged substantiallytangentially to the opening through the nut 14 in order that they maylie in a plane parallel with the face of the yoke 8 on which the slide10 is mounted. lt is7 of course, obvious that other changes inconstruction may be employed for retaining` the nut 14 against movementbut the present device is believed to be the simplest and one that willeffectively hold the nut 14 against movement.

In adjusting the wrench the slide 9 is drawn away from the nut 14 andout of the grooves 13. This nut is then rotated to adjust the movablejaw 3 into close contact with the pipe 'i'. The slide 9 is then 'pushedforward into one of the nearest grooves 13 of the nut, whereby the jawis retained in .fixed position during the operation of turning of thepipe or other article.

It will be seen that I have provided a pipe wrench that is capable ofquick and reliable action and one which retains the movable jaw in afixed position during the operation of the tool.

What I claim is:

In a pipe wrench the combination, of fixed and movable jaws, the jawshaving teeth arranged in the form of a circle to place uniform pressureon the article to be gripped and to prevent the wrench from becomingdetached from the pipe when it hangs in a vertical plane, the movablejaw being mounted in a yoke which is pivotally secured to the fixedhandle part of the wrench, threads on the movable jaw, a nut having anopening therethrough and engag-A ing the threads for adjusting the same,and means for locking the nut, said means comprising grooves in the endof the nut and arranged tangentially to the opening in the nut, a slide,a U-Shaped guide-Way secured to the yoke to receive the slide andlocated adjacent the grooves in the nut, said slide engaging thegrooves, and means for adjusting and clamping the slide in the guide-Way, whereby the movable aw is held in a l@ fixed position during theoperation of turn-- ing the pipe.

MICHAEL F. DRISCOLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0..

